From Amreeka With Love!

As usual, its been a millenium-and-a-half since I last updated this blog. Its not the lack of thoughts, as much as it is a self-imposed sabbatical from writing altogether. There's a lot to write about. But there are times (in my case, months!) when you don't get the urge. Never felt this before, because writing is and will always be a passion. But thankfully, for me anyway, i'm back! So as I sit on my sofa in my apartment in an alien city on the threshold of a new beginning, I wonder not much about what has already transpired in the past 7 months of my Blogattical, but what lies ahead of me!

Leaving Mumbai was tough. When you leave your family and friends, its like your cup of life is already 3/4ths empty, and try as one might, no one can refill that except, well, your family and friends themselves. But I was resigned to it ever since the lovely, yet very confused lady at the Consulate granted me my F-1. But you don't feel the real pinch initially. When I boarded the plane, I was emotional of-course. But I thought to myself, "Oh, I'm just leaving for a vacation. I'll be back soon". And it really felt like I was on a vacation, what with all the lovely free food and drinks on the plane and the awesome entertainment system. And it wasn't over! The first few days out here were nothing short of brilliant! Lots of nice people to hang out with, lots of good food to eat with a seemingly bottomless supply of theplas and rotis and read-to-eats, the free pizzas and drinks at the orientations, the chilly yet nice weather akin to Matheran, the trip to the beach, the table-tennis sessions at the Commons. Well I sure as hell enjoyed every moment of it. The vacation was on in full-swing. No would think I was here to pursue a Masters' degree.

But it was a few days back when I felt the real pinch. I dont know why. I dont know how. But I felt that pinch. You suddenly remember the favorites of your mom's home-cooked meals. You remember every bit of advice that your parents gave to you before you left, word for word. You remember those final moments and wish you could live those moments again. You remember your friends, the times you spent with them over the years. You suddenly recollect the smallest of incidents, good or bad. You remember the jokes, the totally random messages, the online chats, the study-groups, the chai sessions. You remember that last conversation, that last meeting, that final goodbye. And then it sinks in. You realize where you are. You realize you're almost 8000 miles away from everybody. You wash your face thinking you're probably having a bad dream. But you feel no different after that. This is the pinch which i'm sure every student goes through when they leave for pastures new. It seems cliched. But when you experience it first-hand, the feeling is a lot lot worse.

Stony Brook is a wonderful place to live at, atleast for me. Its quiet and cool. Exactly the way I like it! Yes sometimes I miss the hustle and bustle of Mumbai, but then again, you feel like leaving Mumbai for sometime just to get away from the rush don't you?. This place is beautiful, yet weird. Everything is opposite. The cars drive on the wrong side of the road (I almost shouted at the bus driver 'cos I thought he was being irresponsible driving in the wrong lane =D), the taps open the other way, the doors open the other way, the switches operate the other way, the fire alarms go off even when you breathe (not literally, but you know what I mean), you have to press a button on the signal to be able to cross even the smallest of junctions (It takes an eternity sometimes and I almost missed my bus because of that!), the American definition of Summer is so so different from ours, you see people wearing 1/4ths or shorts at 18 Degrees Celcius when you're probably wearing 2 layers of clothing. The people here are unbelievably courteous. Even the bus drivers greet you when you alight the bus. The other day I was moving down the escalator and I happened to sneeze. I was almost at the bottom of the escalator and suddenly I heard someone say, "Bless you!!". A few seconds later I realized someone from the top had said it. Hahaha! IMAGINE!!

This place is gets weirder by the day. The malls here are HUGE! Organic Onions cost $3 an ounce!! Bread costs $1.79!! Laundry costs $3.2!! You convert that to Rupees and you'll probably fall off the chair laughing at my plight! The worst thing for me is the food! Being a strict vegan, it is very difficult, albeit not impossible, to find good food which I can eat. Everything here contains eggs. EVERYTHING. Its not even funny!! When I order pizza at the cafe, I give that guy a lecture listing down almost a million items that I want him not to put on my pizza. In the end, the poor fellow gets frustrated and gives me a slice of plain cheese pizza with a grimace! It gets worse by the day! I'm very famous here for the $6.5 salad that I bought from the cafe! The rate at which this story is spreading, I think you must've already heard of it! :D

America is weird. Totally! But very very nice! Its an amazing place to be. The people around are caring and friendly. The resources provided by the university are brilliant. The place has a perfect study-environment, and I like that!

The real grind starts from tomorrow! The courses are deadly. The competition even more so. Tomorrow is the beginning of a journey like no other. The next 2 years will shape my career, and thats going to require a LOT of hard work, and even that could prove to be less. So as I enjoy these dying moments of my "settling-in" period, I shall leave it here, well, hopefully not for too long!

Be back with more soon!

As the bus driver here would say, "Good day!" :D